Toyota SA has unveiled the livery for its 2013 Dakar Rally Hilux bakkies and invited keen fans to “join the team” to win a Hilux (sans race stickers) of their own.

The new Hilux being prepared is for the gruelling 2013 edition of the Dakar Rally but Toyota SA’s Motorsport division called a halt to the proceedings for one evening to provide some feedback on the 2012 baptism-of-fire and the great expectations ahead of the January 1, 2013, race start.

MORE CARS, PLEASE

In 2012 the rapidly assembled Toyota Hilux team, under the guidance of Glyn Hall’s Hallspeed, sent four SA-built bakkies across the Atlantic Ocean to contest the route between Mar del Plata, Argentina and Lima in Peru – and finished with three in the top 10, including a podium finish for Dakar veteran and 2009 winner Giniel de Villiers and his German navigator Dirk von Zitzewitz.

Perhaps as testament to the success of the Toyota Hilux debut performance Calvyn Hamman, Toyota SA’s vice-president for sales and marketing, announced that Hallspeed had been approached to prepare eight Hiluxes for the 2013 event.

“There are more nerves this year,” Hamman said. “We’re better prepared but still have high expectations. The mood has changed: for 2012 we said ‘go and do your best’. For 2013 we say ‘go and win!’”

He was being dead serious. Hall and De Villiers agreed.

RELIABLE HILUX

De Villiers said: “We’re expecting a lot of very strong teams but we’re in a better position than we were last time. We will, again, depend on the reliability of the Hilux. We have a chance for victory.

“The rules have come a little closer to us (we ran to the 2013 rules this year), we’ve done some good testing and we’ve built a Hilux that’s even stronger.”

In the 2012 Dakar, the SA-built Hilux was the only team to run under the new rules that will be enforced from 2013. The new Dakar rules are based on those used in SA's local off-road championship; Hall admitted "we're testing all the time".

The most notable rule change is that teams must use a production engine and Toyota, in 2012’s T1.5 category, claimed the top three finishers under the new rules, using a 4.6-litre V8.

“For 2013,” Hall continued, “we’ve applied some technology ‘below the line’ that should make us faster and we’ve addressed two things raised by Giniel. We’ve extracted more torque from the (new Lexus-sourced) five-litre V8 and, through chassis adjustments, the Hilux also has a lower centre of gravity and is slightly wider than the last car.”

'WE WON'T BE INTIMIDATED'

Duncan Vos and Rob Howie, current leaders in the SA Off-Road championships, will again campaign the second Toyota SA Hilux on the 15-day trek across the three South American countries. They finished 10th in their debut Dakar in 2012 and will contest the 2013 race in the older car.

Driver Vos said: “We won’t be as in intimidated as we were last year. We’ll attack and drive with more confidence. With the new rules and the knowledge gained, it should be a great race. I’m confident we will be competitive, even with the older car.”

Preparations for the 2013 challenge are well under way. The initial construction of the chromoly (chromium and molybdenum) tubular steel space frame chassis and roll cage is almost complete and will soon be handed over to the assembly team.

Hall said: “In addition, we’ve been making spare parts to support our and customer Hilux owners’ Dakar efforts and we’ve also been supplying assembly kits to the Belgian Team Overdrive which has begun building its own SA-designed Hilux racers under licence. They’re manufacturing the chassis in Belgium, we’re supplying all the components.”

ALL GOING TO DAKAR

The two Dakar Hilux bakkies will be subjected to shakedowns and additional dune testing before being loaded on to pallets and flown to South America in mid-December.

Eric Vigouroux Chevy is well developed and potent truck in all but the most technical (soft and irregular) dunes...
which there was not a lot of percentage wise at the Rallye Maroc. The main disadvantage (compared to the Toyota Hilux pick ups)
for Dakar is the lack of 4WD. The Chevy Trophy Truck (as opposed to the Gordon H3 Buggy - also 2WD) has the engine mounted forward(ish)
of the driver compartment... not over/rearbiased of the rear wheels... which makes for better dune capability.

The X-Raid team will be back to Dakar in January with four ALL4 Racing MINI's

With Peterhansel, Roma, Holowycz and Novitsky in the multicoloured Mini monsters.

In addition X-Raid will likely have two or three additional entrants in the previous generation BMW X-3 CC's

The defending Dakar auto champions (Peterhansel) and the same team driver line up - statistically speaking - still the team to beat...
I think the Imperial Toyota/Overdrive Hiluxes (may) have a slight technical/performance advantage...
but the X-Raid stormtroopers are a well drilled operation with years of experience chasing the VW and Mitsu factory operations.
I'd put even money on Perfecthansel having a better shot than most for title number 11.

The last remaining examples of the former Mitsubishi factory team vehicles are still doing the rounds in the hands of some very well backed privateer teams;

These cars now runing with various configurations of the V6 Mitsubishi powerplant (not the GDi diesels of the 2009 Mitsubish factory effort)
with drivers Spinelli and Co. they usually run in the top 10 to 15 positions...

Does anyone know what Overdrives role is in the whole Hilux story, are the building the cars or what?

They build the (customer spec) cars (chassis and bodywork) in Belgium under licence and all the components come from Hallspeed (South Africa)... who are the constructors/team behind the factory Imperial Toyota entries of De Villiers and co.

Or that's how I understand it to be...

A good friend of mine from the old days - aussie Geoff Olholm - has purchased a Hilux from them (tested in Maroc) and leasing full support on the Dakar from them.

The Racing lancers are now equiped by a V8 Ford mustang engine.
The new Mitsu ASx from Mitsubishi Brazil,isa redesign racing Lancer by ex Ralliart chief (Viardot) also with a V8 gasoline engine (I guess also a Ford V8, as Viardot are helping also the nederland´s mitsu).

Toyota imperial is a good team, not so well funded (not as VW not as mini) with a special unit for De Villers,.
Other Southafrican (Duncan Vos) and 4 to 6 Hilux by overdrive (Lucio Alvarez, Van merkenstein, Olhom, Ordoginov, Cuffaro, may be Ruta).
Engine is a 5.0 V8 from the Lexus IS-F (what an engine!!!!)

What out also SMG buggy driven by Chicherit, and Sousa is the chinese branded Great Wall (a proto build by SMG with some X Raid powertrain)

The Racing lancers are now equiped by a V8 Ford mustang engine.
The new Mitsu ASx from Mitsubishi Brazil,isa redesign racing Lancer by ex Ralliart chief (Viardot) also with a V8 gasoline engine (I guess also a Ford V8, as Viardot are helping also the nederland´s mitsu).

That's interesting... I had not heard about the ford engine transplant. I can understand the Netherlands entry (RiWi) choosing to run an engine of any choice (not bound to any manufacturer as such) that gives them the best performance/possibility under the new production based motor regulations for T1... but that the Petrobras/Mitsubishi backed effort would have an engine of another manufacturer (when the car has MITSUBISHI all over it) seems curious?

That's interesting... I had not heard about the ford engine transplant. I can understand the Netherlands entry (RiWi) choosing to run an engine of any choice (not bound to any manufacturer as such) that gives them the best performance/possibility under the new production based motor regulations for T1... but that the Petrobras/Mitsubishi backed effort would have an engine of another manufacturer (when the car has MITSUBISHI all over it) seems curious?

On the other hand I wouldn't mind an extended bed Overdrive Toyota to carry my bike to races. Yeah, I know, dream on...

Not much room in the bed for a bike back there Brodo'... what with 400 odd liter fuel cells, three spare wheels, all the tube chassis/roll cage/barwork, rear suspension towers and the heaps of stuff like sand ramps and jacking equipment etc. jammed in everywhere else... It'd have to be a pretty good extension of the bed/tailgate you'd need!

And the sedan type vehicles (Mitsu's, MINI's, X3 BMW's etc.) don't have it much better... I remember looking inside the X3 CC's once a few years back thinking; "Hmmmm... space is a bit of a premium...?" And I don't think the Mini has improved things much.

At least the pick-ups like the Hilux and Isuzu D-Max (dual cabs) have a little extra cabin space in the back two doors... plus the bed area, which is possibly one of the reasons these have become popular/competitive choice of vehicle once again.

I remember a few years back, some Eurosport footage from one of the bivouac departures; one of the VW team co-drivers (Michel Perin... I think it may have been) was handed just prior to departure, a small plastic box (what looked like a lunch/box - possibly with food/provisions for the day in it?) by one of their Red Bull pit/team members. Sitting in the tight confines of the Race Toureg, he tried to glance over his left shoulder... rally intercom, 2 x helmets and two rally jackets in a netting bag already occupied that space... He then peered between his feet... then back at the team member, and raised both his eyebrows with a half whimsical; "ummm...well... where do you expect me to put THAT...?!" kind of expression on his face.

On nearly all Dakar competition vehicles (be they Moto's, Quads or Auto's) space can often times be at a premium, when you consider all of the mandatory, safety, recovery, spares, navigation and personal gear/rations etc. that have to be fitted in somewhere.

When you order your Overdrive pick-up Brodovitch, ask them to throw in a tow hitch mounted bike rack for the rear bumper!